Friday, April 27, 2007

Virginia based thrashers MUNICIPAL WASTE have loaded up a track from their forth coming new album "THE ART OF PARTYING" on to their myspace. The track "HEADBANGER FACE RIP" one of the possible thrash anthems from the new chef d'oeuvre out on Earache records on June 11th.

Check out "THE ART OF PARTYING" artwork by San Francisco based artist Andrei Bouzikov. Like the “Hazardous Mutation” cover by Ed Repka this album artwork brings that typically dayglow armageddon-chaos pseudo-reality images to life – but this time with a zombie party! Crazy. Watch out for the Beer Pressure, it seems to have gone to some of these party goers heads. To check out more of Andrei’s work - http://www.karaterex.com/aboo/

Check out the new track at www.myspace.com/municipalwaste www.facethewaste.com

Norwegian Death Metallers BLOOD RED THRONE have completed work on their forth coming new album due to be released on Earache records on June 25th.

Tchort of Blood Red throne states:

"Yet another tough birth is over and the Blood Red Throne crew is proud to announce its newest album is born! People familiar with the band and its past know the term ?The BRT curse? and it struck us on several occasion this time as well. In the past it broke down our transportation in the middle of nowhere, killed our vocalist (whom we managed to resurrect with a little love and caring (read: mouth-to-mouth. We wont reveal who was the (un)lucky care taker), a tree that bitchslapped a couple of our members while surfing the roof of the tour bus (while driving) inside the city of London (some might say that it was a light version of the curse as the bridge missed them!), a drummer who had to be replaced as he disappeared while recording the drums for one of our albums (Spinal Tap anyone?) and the story goes on. However, the fact remains that we are proud of the new album and we are proud to show the capacity of our two new members caught on tape for the first time. This album (more details soon-to-come) represents the essence of Blood Red Throne. Groove, aggression, catchiness, melody and technique. In a perfect BRT blend! We are looking forward to meet all of you on the road again soon!"

Michael Nordeen (bass) illustrates: "We shot the live band shots in a parking garage in downtown sacramento. The girl with the axe and tv scenes were shot on the sacramento river about a week later. We did about 20 takes on the live shots, starting at about 7pm and ending at about 1am. We spent about 3 hours setting up and waiting for the sun to set prior to starting. Scott had multiple camera angles on rollers and hand shots. He also had about 3 photographers throughout the video shoot taking live stills. He was a great director to work with and was very easy going as well as open to our ideas. He made the video shoot fun. It turned out better than expected, with the effects and movement that he explained to us before shooting. He spent about 2 weeks editing it. He took the time to make a myspace version of the song which looks great. We were definitely happy with the final product, especially after those long hours. Video shoots are long, and hard. I guess the best way to say it is, its harder work to fake playing your own music for hours than it really is to actually play the songs. All in all, it was a great experience!"

Scott Cramer director of the video explains how the video came about:

"The story goes like this:

I get a call somewhere mid February from a producer from iline entertainment. A company that executive produced a couple musicvideos for me last year. He tells me that a record label in the UK is looking for me to do a musicvideo and forwards me an email from Ali at Earache. I guess he found me on some film festival website looking for local musicvideo directors. I think he recognized some work i did with The Abominable Iron Sloth and Willhaven music videos. Anyway. I made up a concept based on some imagery floating around in my head when I was listening to the song that was given to me. I really wanted to do this slimy organic tv device that is growing out of the ground. It has these gas mask like tentacles that has some kind of toxic smoke and is sending out propaganda. This thing wakes up this girl out of the water. Never establish if shes dead or alive. its unknown. She finds it in the woods and gets seduced by it and entranced with what the device is transmitting. She ends up rejecting it, sees the evil in it, destroys it with an axe and returns to the river. All edited together with the band.

Making the video was fun. The band is really a bunch of cool guys. They were really into it and trusted me with making something they would approve of. I told them that the last video i did, the band did 46 takes. For real. I shoot alot of takes. My experience with making band scenes is like trying to drive a car across country when you know its gonna die on the way. I'll keep shooting and eventually the band or something is gonna stop it.

We shot the band scene in a parking garage in downtown Sacramento. We got delayed about an hour when a security guard was not informed from the owners of the property about us shooting and dialed 911. The cops came. I explained the situation. Showed them my permits and insurance and that we were not gonna blow up the building. They left. The sun came down and it was on. We shot till almost 4 a.m. As we were wrapping up. The cops showed up again. This time with a disturbance call. But it was to late for the bastards. We were done and got away with it.

shooting the story stuff was really hard. All day i chased the sun. Ashlyn Kei Miyasaki is the living/dead girl in the video. Shes a local actress here in Sacramento and I put her through hell. The sacramento river is really cold right now. She freezed her ass off in that river. And then i had to pour water on her the whole shoot to keep the wet look. I felt so bad for her. The shit we do for art huh?

Anyway. Got the video done in about 4 weeks. We shot it in HD and had alot of post work with rotoscoping the footage into the TV and stuff. I gotta thank my crew for working for food. Without them it would of been a disaster. I'm really glad to have it done. No one died or got pregnant in the process. Goodtimes. I hope to work with Earache again. They got some really cool music.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Continuing the celebration of its 20th Anniversary, Earache has got together with Emusic to offer a special FREE download album for a limited period.

Fans should check out http://www.emusic.com/album/11027/11027609.html For details of the offer which features 15 tracks from a variety of artists such as Deicide, At the Gates and Cult of Luna, plus rare and unreleased tracks from Evile, Decapitated, The Berzerker and Mortiis

The offer only lasts for a set period, so act fast and claim your free music!

You can now listen exclusively to a forthcoming track entitled ‘Summon the Antichrist’ taken from Akercocke’s forthcoming album ‘Antichrist’. The album is set for release on May 28th and is already swarming with anticipation following the announcement of the band’s digital treasure hunt ‘The Antichrist Code’.

This unique online quest that guides fans around the internet in search of a satisfying reward begins on http://www.myspace.com/akercockeantichrist, where you can also listen exclusively to the track taken from Akercocke’s blistering new release.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Dutch death metallers SEVERE TORTURE are currently in the studio working ontheir forthcoming new album scheduled for release at the end of June onEarache records.

Guitarist Thijs van Laarhoven sent this update:"Hey folks! A short update here.... We are momentarily right in the middleof recording of our new, as yet untitled, album. Seth already did an amazingjob on drums and created an ultra tight foundation for the new songs. Marvinand I finished recording all the guitars last week and it turned out heavyas hell. All the leads were finished last sunday and yesterday Pat finishedhis bass tracks and thusfar all the stuff sounds absolutely killer! Nextweekend Dennis will start recording the vocals. The new record will feature10 new songs and we recorded 3 special suprises to be used for bonus tracksetc.. Also a big chance that there will be some special guests on the album,but more about that later! So look out for new updates over the next coupleof weeks as we will be announcing the the album title, the tracklist and allother kinds of cool stuff! Cheers! ST"

Friday, April 20, 2007

Earache release "Metal: A Headbanger's companion" next Monday 23rd April. Celebrating 20 years of Earache's fierce and unruly independence and providing listeners with a 6 cd spectrum of Earache artists old and new this value for money box set incorporates all aspects of different Metal genres in one helpful reference collection. With over 100 tracks spread across 6 genre specific discs from 20 years of Earache including Rock/Metal, Punk/Hardcore, Death Metal, Grindcore, Industrial and Leftfield and retailing for around £9.99 in all good record stores the collection is a nice introduction or addition to any rock fans collection, including tracks from Carcass, Pitch Shifter, Clutch, Dillinger Escape Plan, Deicide, Mortiis, Municipal Waste, Cult of Luna, Napalm Death, Dub War, The Haunted, Akercocke and many many more.

Win a copy of "Metal: A Headbangers companion" every day next week on www.totalrock.com

Municipal Waste head out on tour with The Haunted next week round Europe. Giving you a chance to hear material from the forth coming new album “The Art of Partying” released on Earache records June 11th. Landphil bassist of Municipal Waste states: ““I am totally stoked to hit Europe next week and man I am so looking forward to playing with The Haunted too, they’ve been one of my favourite bands for a long time. I’m sure that everyone will be hyped to hear the Waste’s new material I’m super excited to get to play it live round Europe so soon after coming out of the studio with Zeuss, I’m eager to see people’s reaction to the Waste party!” “The Art of Partying” will be released on Earache records on June 11th. Keep up to date with Municipal Waste at: www.myspace.com/municipalwaste www.facethewaste.com

Ephel Duath, Earache's Italian Jazz metallers will play the "Printemps de Bourges" festival in France with UK band Enter Shikari before setting out for the UK for their forthcoming UK tour: "We are currently preparing to pack and go visit the UK for our third headliner tour starting May 6. This one promises to be quite special as we will be playing our first Irish shows ever, in Dublin, Cork and Belfast. We are delighted to perform there and excited at the idea of playing 7 more gigs in England, where the crowd has always been very supportive. This will also be our last UK tour before we enter the studio at the end of the year, making this last promotional effort all the more special to us.

Friday, April 13, 2007

To tie in with the release of their forthcoming album 'Antichrist' released on May 28th, UK death-metal giants Akercocke have launched a treasure hunt with a twist - The Antichrist Code. This is a unique digital phenomenon that asks fans to take part in a quest that is both challenging and confounding, with the reward of seeking a unique grand prize.

Avid Akercocke devotees will be guided around the depths of the internet, through sites such as Myspace and YouTube with their skills of discovery put firmly to the test at every stage. By following clues and unearthing conclusions relating to Akercocke, fans will take part in a rare pursuit that will present them face-to-face with a dazzling and satisfying result!

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Municipal Waste, undisputed kings of the new wave of Thrash Metal streaking across the globe, have finished work on their second Earache mosh masterpiece entitled 'The Art of Partying'.

Sticking it in the face of depressing modern eyeliner fuelled rock with a blatant disregard for their own safety in honour of the thrash party gods and armed with an arsenal of nuclear beer, boogie boards, food fights and steaming riffs,Municipal Waste have only one aim: to put the fun back into rock music.

Offering lessons in how to Party, the notoriously well experienced beer mad Virginia based band, return with 'The Art of Partying' which is building up to be one of the most anticipated records of the year.

Fresh out of Zeus's' Planet Z studios drummer Dave Witte enthuses: "We couldn't be more stoked with the outcome. Fast, furious and fun all rolled into one...a real animal."

'The Art of Partying' will be released on June 11th on Earache Records.

In advance of the release the band undertake a full European trek in support of The Haunted at the following shows:

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

SSS, also known as Short Sharp Shock, want to reverberate their righteous anthem – THRASH IS KING! Hailing from the streets of Liverpool, SSS liquidate elements of hardcore, punk and good ‘ol THRASH metal into a ferocious serum of in-your-face genuine THRASH! Blazing through UK stages, SSS have established themselves as an underground thrash force – embracing the ideals of the old school, updating the sound with their very own hardcore fusion elixir. SSS recently sat down to answer some pressing questions and reveal the thrashin’ beasts within! SSS will be reissuing their 2006 Thrashgig release, “Short Sharp Shock,” via Earache records in late July and will be touring the UK late Spring and Summer 2007! SSS bring it organically – short, sharp and crucially SHOCKING!

A POIGNANT INTERVIEW WITH SHORT SHARP SHOCK (SSS)!

How long has SSS been in existence? What releases have you put out before signing to Earache?

MARK: We got together in March 2004 I think. We had around 6 practices, made a demo and started playing gigs. We then put out a self titled 7" EP, which was a split release though our own Thrashgig label and Dead and Gone records. We then saved up our pennies and recorded and released our album, which is again self titled. Earache heard this and offered us a deal, including re-mastering and re-releasing this album for June 07.

How would you describe your brand of thrash?

FOXY: I have O.T.D...(old timers disease) - I can’t get rid of it! It’s in my blood for the rest of my days. It’s a bitter affliction, it wont budge. It’s got a hold on me and I cant shake it - a lot like our musical tastes. Suicidal Tendencies and SOD take away the pain of today's illness...and modern musical climate.

MARK: We're not talented enough to play straight up thrash metal, plus we don't have the attention span, so we focus in on more of the crossover sound - liberally nicking bits fromDRI, Excel, Suicidal Tendencies, SOD, No Mercy, etc. We all come from a punk rock and hardcore background, so that high energy and hard impact is essential to our sound.

You hail from the home of the Beatles - how do you think the rest of the world views Liverpool?

MARK: The rest of the UK views us as a dump, and the rest of the world probably only knows us from The Beatles and football, so I don't care. I love it here (and I love the Beatles too)!

What are your thoughts on the modern Thrash revival? How do you think elements like the Internet will change the underground sentiment of the Thrash of ‘ol?

MARK: I didn't even realize there was other bands out there playing thrash, but I've been pleasantly surprised. It's mega underground at the minute, but hopefully things will change, as it's so easy to get your demo online with sites like MySpace. I think the Internet can be the modern equivalent to the tape trading scene, if the bands and fans embrace it.

FOXY: There’s a revival? It’s good to see other like minded people destroying their brains with an injection of thrash. People can be introduced to this genre at a single click - cut out the waiting for records to drop in the post (but that was half the fun). Get up to speed fast - digest with your slippers and a mug of hot chocolate by the fire!

What are your thoughts on British thrash versus US thrash? What do you think are some differences?

MARK: You can't beat the Bay Area sound, but Xentrix did a pretty good version of it for 2 albums.

FOXY: East coast is 5 hours behind and west coast is 7....that's the only difference for me!

Foxy, the word on the street is you love roller coasters. What’s the fascination?

FOXY: Ha! Who told you that? But ya...coasters RIP! Speed is the need...my need is speed. Wooden coasters are the KING! The threat of these wooden thrashers falling over or coming off the tracks and you flying out, smashing your face on the ground with broken teeth, is always high on my list!

Skateboarding is making a huge mainstream comeback, but has always played a role in the thrash lifestyle. How do you feel the two are connected?

FOXY: Fast and furious is what they are - anyone can skate and anyone can start a band, it’s gritty and raw. You can skate anywhere down your street or local park, slappy a curb or sweepers in the deep. Shoulder pads and cocaine was out, play in the garage. Can’t play? Who cares...just make a noise and learn fast! Kids got into skating and also listened to pissed off, fast music. It’s unruly, obnoxious, loud and aggressive - that's the attraction. Skating is dead, the X Games fad has gone (thank fuck!) - time to mop up and destroy all the parks that are now devoid of mums and dads and their ratfink kids. Skating comes in 10 year cycles....thrash comes in 20 year cycles....divide 20 by 10 and that gives you number 2. Two bearings per wheel - plus two times 2 is four, that's four spitfires on my deck and 4 members in SSS! If we’ve done our calculations correctly we get an A+ and a gold star. No apple for teacher though.

What could be better than an early holiday escape? Escape the holiday sickness by watching the new live video for “Desecration,” from death metal masters DEICIDE, available now at: www.earache.com/bands/deicide/desecration/player.html and on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=sAUk0t4ijk8. DEICIDE’S “The Stench of Redemption” has been popping up on top metal lists of 2006 everywhere and has appeared on list in About.com, Metal Maniacs, and most recently on the top 5 list of metal authority, Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles! Rediscover DEICIDE in 2007 and see why “The Stench of Redemption” has won listeners over! Don’ forget to check out the blistering video for “Desecration” and witness DEICIDE slaying the masses with harmonic corruption!

³I grew up on vinyl records, when CD came along and vinyl was dyingAway I was gutted, CD still can¹t stand up to the pure artistic space thatis open to you on an LP.

The creativity that was explored with the vinyl format (especially in the70¹s) was pure magic and thatdied when CD came along. I think to some extent you can be creative with aCD too but it¹s nowhere close. I try to get vinyl versions of everything we do,although sometimes that just doesn¹t happen. We¹re doing it now, andit is something i will be fighting for with every release we do in thefuture As well, to be as creative as possible in an environment that reflectsthat, vinyl records are a great medium to showcase cool ideas.²

'Some Kind of Heroin' is released on April 16,Catch Mortiis now on his European tour with the Deathstars on these dates: